At times, it feels as though breakdancing sits on the outskirts of hip-hop. Although a fundamental element of the culture, breaking can come across as an art that hasn’t gained nearly as much attention as MCing or DJing. However, with the 2024 Paris Olympics around the corner, the art form and athleticism that breakers exhibit day in and day out will get its shine, once again. Breaking's inclusion in the 2024 Olympics marks the first time it will appear in the sports programme, alongside three other new categories: surfing, skateboarding, and sport climbing.
On July 29th, The Red Bull BC One Midwest Cypher took over Minneapolis’ legendary First Avenue where 16 b-boys and 8 b-girls went toe-to-toe for a shot that would take them one step closer to the 2024 Olympics to represent the U.S: the National Final in Philadelphia. After going round-for-round with the best of ‘em, B-boy Ark of Kahaluʻu, Hawaiʻi and B-girl Blondie of Las Vegas, Nevada came out on top. Despite their impeccable performances, B-girl Kate and B-boy HiJack at Red Bull BC One Cypher National Final in Philadelphia on August 26th.
Minneapolis breakdancing legend, Jake “B-Boy Boogie B” Riley held down the evening as the host. Just days away from Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, Red Bull BC One Midwest Cypher firmly reiterated the importance of breaking, led by one of the most pivotal figures in Minneapolis’ scene. Alongside his wife, Baoie Lee Riley, he owns and operates House Of Dance Twin Cities, a dance studio dedicated to “providing the highest quality Hip-Hop, Breakdancing, and Popping & Locking classes” in Minneapolis and St. Paul. We recently caught up with them to discuss the history of breakdancing in their hometown, the significance of the 2024 Summer Olympics, and how TikTok trends don’t represent breaking.
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How would you describe the evolution of B-boying from its inception until today?
B-Boy Boogie: Oh, man. Yeah. Breaking, the movement, I think the one thing that's always stayed the same is the importance of the foundation. I'm a b-boy myself, but I'm also an educator and owner of the studio here, House Of Dance Twin Cities. And when we educate the kids, they might want to jump to a headspin right away but we're like, “Nah, you got to slow down, step back, make sure you get the foundation right.”
I think one thing is that innovation and originality are very important. Somebody could make a move that 10, 15 years later becomes a part of that foundation that everybody does. So this is not a complete dance and I tell the kids – and myself too, as a practitioner – that it's an evolving dance that you can create a move that 10-15 years down the road, everybody will be doing. They might not know it’s your move but it becomes foundational movement. It becomes part of the vocabulary of the dance.
So I mean, it's evolved. I'm sure a lot of people say it became a worldwide thing since Hip Hop started. And the level is just crazy, particularly among the power moves and the spins. There's a 5, 6, 7-year-olds doing incredible moves that I could only dream of nowadays, so. And I think, too, with the Olympics coming into play, it's going to become all the more physical, and all the more sport-like.
Baoie Lee: We've always told the kids, we’re coming into our 50th year of hip hop, right? When you look at breaking, specifically, as the element of hip hop, that stems from all the other things. And then you compare it to more traditional dances like ballet and classical modern, they've been around for hundreds of years. So, it's really difficult to create new stuff. It's not like that with breaking. So you can still make stuff which, as Jake said, it can kind of one day eventually become a foundational movement, because the dance and the culture itself is still so young. To make it to 50 is amazing. And now it's because it's a young person thing, it'll be able to continue to move, and we'll see what it is like the next ten.
B-Boy Boogie: I think one last thing to piggyback on that is, we're still in the Pioneer phase of hip hop. Even us as practitioners today, if 1000 years from now, 100, 200, 300 years from now, they're gonna be like, “Yo, that first 50,” like, I still look at it as we're still pioneering this thing. And the movement is still young, in and of itself, even though it's come so far. So I always tell I tell our students that too, because you walk into hip hop, it's competitive, and you don't know where you fit in, or how you can contribute. And I'm like, there's still a long way to go.
What was the foundation for you two when you first began?
Boogie: I mean, the foundation was already set when I started. So I started in 2004. You know, I think two things sometimes conflict. There's like what's trendy and so when I started, it was about blow-ups and tricks. How crazy can you get the crowd to scream off a flip or a crazy freeze. And being clean, being fresh wasn't as valued. But, the foundation is the dance itself is broken up into five elements: top rock, go downs or drops, footwork, power moves, and freezes. I always say there's a sixth element, which is creativity; what you bring into all five. And that foundation was laid out before me and that still stands true today. It's just the elevation of that foundation over the last 19 years has been crazy.
From my understanding, a lot of the foundation of breaking began with regional elements. How would you describe Minneapolis’ breaking scene compared to other hubs?
B-Boy Boogie: I always say, when it comes to history, I'm not old enough. I wasn't there. So I don't know the real accurate depiction, no matter how much I read, or who I listened to. But obviously, you know, I think it's pretty well depicted that hip hop started in New York, started with the B-boys and B-girls. And then yeah, definitely jumped over to the West Coast where [the innovation of power moves launched]. When it hit the Midwest, the bigger cities captured it more so first – Chicago, Detroit, and others – but I would describe the Minneapolis scene as, I think, well-rounded is the best way to describe it.
By the time the Minneapolis scene really took off, we had multiple crews, and dozens and dozens of kids coming up. Breaking was already developed enough where we saw, okay, you could be the head spin guy but if you don't have a little bit of everything, you're not going to last him a battle. Like that one movie is cool, but you don't want to be a one trick pony. You want to have it all. And so I would say we kind of captured that and the dopest B boys and B girls here, you're gonna see that they have a little bit of everything. They might not be the best at any one thing but they're gonna bring everything to the table. And I think creativity is important here. Like, everybody looks a little bit different and that's what makes you dope.
What was your first exposure to breaking?
Baoie Lee: Okay, so for me, I'm Hmon. And in St. Paul and Minnesota, there's a huge Hmong population here, right? The first time I was exposed to breaking was at the July 4th soccer tournament that happens at Como. If you've ever been around the Como Zoo area during July 4, you'll see that there's a boatload of Hmong people and they've got all these vendors up and they block up the soccer fields. I first saw breaking happening at the tennis courts at Como. And there was, I think it was Randy at the time, known as B-Boy One.
So this would have been right around the time that Jake had started breaking, which is in 2004. So between like, I would say probably 2007, maybe 2008 was the first time I saw Randy doing these crazy air flairs at a tennis court, and they were counting how many he was doing at that time. And I was like 10-11, maybe even younger than that.
Boogie: I would say I saw it at a birthday party. And I wasn't really good at sports. I was kind of corny middle school kid, trying to find my way, trying to attract girls. I looked wack, bro. I'm gonna lie. I just got done skateboarding. Skateboarding was a nice transition because I've always been into, like, personal artistic type sports – a little bit of both. And skating and breaking have a lot of parallels.
When I saw breaking, I saw how much attention the guy got. I was like, Ooh, I want to do it. It’s really like selfish reasons. I mean, that's where I first saw. Where I first saw real breaking, was actually at an event called Hip Hop Fest here in downtown Minneapolis. They sectioned off a whole block on Hennepin Avenue in the mid-2000s, like, 2005, 2006. And they actually had their main beatbox battles and breaking battles here at First Avenue in the main room. So this is one of the first points I saw, like real competitive breaking.
Looking back at those pivotal moments, how do you think you built what you off now from your introduction to breaking?
Baoie Lee: For me being Hmong, and at the time, I think that a lot of Hmong kids sought refuge in rap and hip hop because we were placed in the same areas as a lot of Black and Brown people. We were broke. Your family probably just immigrated to the United States in the 80s, right? So you were impoverished, and you all lived in the same area. So I remember always listening to rap and hip-hop. And then, to see breaking, just to see that it was a part of all that. And then to also know that a lot of our elders thought of it as like gangster sh*t, you know? So for them that like, “Yo, why are you doing that? That's not good. It's not good for you.” It's like, no, they're, you're just trying to dance.
Even when I'm explaining it to my family now – my mom is pretty Americanized. She came here in the 80s and she's younger than her siblings. But for her now it's seeing, “Oh, there is a pathway. There is a way that you can make this sustainable and have a family and own a home and do all these other things.” And it's not just something fun to do on the side. But it requires a lot of grinding. Years and years of grinding and going through all the motions.
When we started dating, I didn't realize what impact he had in a scene locally, quite yet, because I was just a spectator at that time. And so to transition into being an organizer, and to be also an educator, to be a studio owner to knowing that, “okay, whatever it is that I say and do, it's gonna affect not just the kids that are coming into this, but also the people that all came before us.” And with these kids and their parents is showing them that, hey, look, hip hop can be presented in a nice uniform fashion.
We always call our studio like a doorway to our greater community that the general public – we would use terms that you wouldn't get. For example, if I say breaking, they'd be like, “What is that?” What if you say breakdancing, immediately, they get it. So it's knowing that what we're doing is it has that greater impact.
Boogie: I started in 2004. I mean, yeah, I was a kid from the suburbs. Just got done skating. I had to earn my rep. An elder, who now we're good friends with, he told me to quit. He's like, “You're wack, you should quit.” So it was a little bit cutthroat. In the beginning, I had to even earn my place in spaces. Just to be honest being a white dude from the burbs but I appreciated that. I appreciated that at the time. I knew that I had to work hard at it and most importantly, I loved it, I was passionate about it. So I knew that, number one, I think with all things hip hop, every element is its skill first. Your skills talk louder than any self-promotion, anything. And so I got my skills up, started winning battles.
Our crew – Optimistic Crew – became one of the best crews in town, earned some respect, traveled around the country. And then I quickly learned that, okay, I don't want to get in a regular nine-to-five. So we opened up a studio called House Of Dance Twin Cities in 2014. Started working with Red Bull shortly thereafter, because I had already been a part of the BC One circuit. And yeah, one thing led to another, and 19 years later here we are hosting. It is full circle.
TikTok became a huge platform that has amplified regional dances, whether it’s Jersey, Philly or wherever. But for breakdancers, how do you think platforms like TikTok help the scene?
Boogie: First of all, I’m 31. A little old Tiktok. But I will say this breaking is not a dance challenge. Breaking is hard as hell. So no one's gonna be able to just turn their phone on, quick learn a little routine, shake their hips, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, to a trendy song and get it.
Baoie Lee: I think that applies more to other styles. Like, that applies more to freestyle and social hip-hop moves.
Boogie: I'm not trying to down any other street styles but breaking is really physically hard to do. It takes two to three years to even feel comfortable. So oftentimes, you might see a breaking highlight on TikTok, but there are very few breaking challenges on TikTok So when we're talking looking at it, solely from a breaking perspective, being a B-boy, I think TikTok is helping to keep hip hop, young and youthful and current with the next generation, which is important. I'm not going to down on that. And I think things like Instagram are a better social media outlet for breakers. I think it's important, I think it helps to elevate but again, it's going back to what I tell my kids: skills first. So you don't want to filter the skill.
Baoie Lee: Yeah, to me, it's separate. The lens that we look at it, beyond being practitioners and community members of hip-hop, you have to be able to separate the two. But then we also look at it as studio owners. Like, at our studio, we have a hip-hop track and a breaking track. The hip hop track is gonna consist of all upright movements, you know, whether it's krumping, popping and locking, all that stuff. Hip-hop freestyle, that’s one area. And then braking is a whole other area. So for me, TikTok challenges can't really touch the braking part of it because you have to have that foundational movement.
Boogie: You could do a breaking challenge within the community. Like, if you did a breaking challenge here with all the competitors, they would do it. But in terms of worldwide, it’s hard.
Is it a good tool, at least? In terms of what you see with the young kids, are they able to get their names out a little bit more?
Boogie: 100%.
Baoie Lee: They can, I would say but if they could limit it, that would be best. I think that you can use social media to your advantage. Just not all the time.
Boogie: TikTok is definitely driving the new hip-hop dance trends of today, for sure. So there's like the dip, lean, swag. That's not breaking. I think what we're talking about really is social hip-hop, right? Social hip hop, done at parties, done with groups. Easy to do, but it's all about what's your little spin on it. Kind of like, I'm 31, so we had the Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It or the Get Silly.
If Tiktok was around in those eras, we’d have the Get Silly Challenge or the Stanky Leg Challenge. I think what we're really talking about right now is social hip hop and social Hip Hop definitely keeps Hip Hop current and trendy. Trendy is not always a bad thing. People use the word trendy, and practitioners be like, ‘Oh, that's wack.’ But you need the trends to keep it alive with the kids. If the kids aren't feeling Hip Hop no more, Hip hop is quickly going to become like other genres. It's gonna be played out. So I think it definitely serves that.
Breaking is heading to the Olympics in 2024. How do you think this will impact breaking culture?
Boogie: Well, first and foremost, we are very intimately connected to that circuit. We are the House Of Dance Twin Cities. We've hosted the last two Midwest regional qualifiers for Team USA. We're on the Breaking For Gold USA Organizers Committee, which is a national committee that is working to create Team USA for next year. We have solidified that team. I think that the Olympics is going to further legitimize breaking to the world, that it's not just some spinning around, you know, on the street thing. It is this dynamic, creative, really, really hard thing where these athletes are now getting personal trainers and meal preps and training like Olympic athletes.
To be honest, breaking has always struggled to get sponsorship endorsements and money. DJs have always gotten paid well – not always. I shouldn't say always gonna pay well. You can get to a “I DJ your event, you pay me.” If you're an emcee, you sell records and you get streams, you get paid that way or you do a show. Breakers has kind of always been on the side thing. It's been harder for breakers to get paid throughout all time.
Baoie Lee: If you were to ask a rapper to do a show for free, they’d be like, no. But a rapper would come and ask the dancer, ‘Come dance in my music video.’
Boogie: We talked about that in the dance scene, like we respect MCs, but we would never ask what you ask of us, usually. I get it, people have limited budgets but to go back to the Olympics, I think that it is going to change the game because major sponsors like Nike, Adidas, Puma, whatever, are already starting to sponsor athletes breaking athletes, and that is going to provide further careers. And you're going to see more and more, on commercials, on TV all over, like breakers doing high-level stuff. So it's gonna grow the community. I know not everybody likes it. Yeah, you're gonna get mixed reviews but from our perspective, working with youth, we think it's a good thing, as long as they listened to the culture.
How do you think breaking will progress and evolve in the next 50 years of hip-hop?
Boogie: 50 is a long time. I'll just say that dance and breaking is a human thing. So if it continues to make people healthy and help them find themselves, that's number one. I think no matter how big it gets, in terms of sponsorships, endorsements, Olympics, this and that, if it loses that touch, then we're going in the wrong direction. I think hip-hop is a youth-driven culture. And I think that as long as the youth are involved, and they have a voice, that it'll be okay. So it's just the enjoyment and all the other stuff will follow. That foundation, we talk about the movement getting more complex, more endorsements, that will all come if those foundational communal things happen. I think we’ll be in good hands.
Hopefully, there are more career opportunities, like the people throwing down today on this floor, myself, our generations, we're still learning the way. We love it. But I'm pretty sure a lot of these people are going to go back to other nine to fives that they would prefer not to be doing. And so sustainable income especially in this growing inflated economy we got. You know, it's getting harder and harder for artists, in general, to live. So the economic side of breaking is something to think about.
